5 UCA Bears Football Players Named to Watch Lists

 

CONWAY, Ark. – The University of Central Arkansas Bears have five football players on the College Football Performance Awards Watch Lists for the upcoming 2013 season.

Quarterback Wynrick Smothers, a senior from Destrehan, La., leads the way on the FCS Quarterback Award Watch list. Senior safety Jestin Love of West Memphis earned a spot on the Defensive Back Award list, while senior tight end Chase Dixon of Fort Smith is on the Tight End Award list.

Sophomore defensive end Jonathan Woodard made the Defensive Line Award list, while junior placekicker Eddie Camara earned a spot on the Placekicker Award list.

Smothers was the Southland Conference Offensive Player of the Year in 2012, passing for 3,103 yards and 31 touchdowns. Love, the SLC Freshman of the Year in 2010, earned first-team All-SLC honors last season and has 12 career interceptions at UCA.

Woodard was the SLC Freshman of the Year at his defensive end position, making 36 tackles, including seven sacks and 11 tackles for loss. Camara has been UCA’s starter for two seasons and was a first-team All-SLC selection last season after making 53 of 54 point-after attempts and 13 of 15 field goal attempts. Dixon, from Fort Smith Southside, caught eight passes a year ago, with four going for touchdowns.

The UCA Bears, co-champions of the Southland last season and an FCS Playoff team for the second consecutive season, open the 2013 season on Thursday, Aug. 29 at home against Incarnate Word, one of four new schools in the SLC this year.

 

UCA bears player_smothers-wynrick 12#4 Wynrick Smothers

Position: QB
Height: 6-1
Weight: 208
Class: Junior
Hometown: Destrehan, La.

Career: Appeared in 12 games with one start at quarterback…completed 46 passes on 92 attempts for 558 yards and a touchdown…rushed the ball 57 times for 231 yards and three touchdowns…has caught one pass for one yard and a touchdown

Honors: Southland Conference Offensive Player of the Week on 9/13/10

2011: Appeared in five games with one start at quarterback…completed 29 passes on 59 attempts for 374 yards and a touchdown…ran the ball 23 times for 55 yards…caught one pass for one yard and a touchdown…second on team in passing efficiency at 97.82…against Arkansas State completed 16 passes for 224 yards and a touchdown, ran for 37 yards on ten carries, and caught a one yard touchdown pass

2010: Appeared in seven games as a reserve quarterback before suffering season-ending injury…rushed 34 times for 176 yards and three touchdowns…went 17-for-33 passing with two touchdowns, 184 yards and one interception…rush six times for 76 yards and two touchdowns and was 7-for-7 passing with 46 yards in win at Eastern Illinois and was named Southland Conference Offensive Player of the Week…rushed for 39 yards and touchdown in debut against Elizabeth City on Sept. 2…passed for 100 yards and a touchdown at Tulsa on Sept. 25

2009: Redshirted.

High School: 5A All-State Honorable Mention for Destrehan High School…5-5A All-District selection for 14-0 state champion team as a senior…New Orleans Quarterback Club Player of the Week vs. John Ehret High School…won back-to-back state Louisiana 5A State titles…three-year letterman in basketball…as a senior was 152-of-252 for 2,265 yards, 20 touchdowns and ran 82 times for 347 yards and eight touchdowns…listed on Rivals.com.

#28 Jestin Love

Position: DB
Height: 6-0
Weight: 208
Class: Junior
Hometown: West Memphis, Ark.

Played in 23 career games at defensive back…has 114 tackles, including 70 solos and four tackles for a loss…has 11 interceptions, which ranks 14 th in UCA history, for 236 yards, which ranks second in UCA history…his three interception returns for touchdowns ranks also ranks second in UCA history…has six pass breakups, two forced fumbles, one fumble return for 16 yards and one kickoff return for 16 yards

Awards: 2011 All-Southland Conference Second Team…Southland Conference Player of the Week and College Sporting News All-Star on 10/22/11…2010 Southland Conference Freshman of the Year…2010 All-Southland Conference Second Team…Southland Conference Defensive Player of the Week on 10/25/10

2011: Appeared in 13 games with 11 starts at defensive back…ranked third on the team and 18th in the conference with 75 tackles, including 50 solos…ranked first on the team, 5th in the conference and 21st in the nation with five interceptions for 70 yards and one touchdown…recorded two tackles for a loss, five pass breakups and two forced fumbles…named Southland Conference Defensive Player of the Week and College Sporting News All-Star after recording nine solo tackles, two pass breakups, one forced fumble and one interception for 31 yards and touchdown in a win against Nicholls State…had 11 tackles, including six solos and a pass breakup against Montana…had 10 tackles, including six solos against Sam Houston State

2010: Played in 10 games with four starts at safety…recorded 39 tackles with two four loss…also had a forced fumble and a pass breakup…tied for first in the league and sixth in the nation with six interceptions…tied for first in school history with two interception return touchdowns…third in UCA history with 166 interception return yards…had the second longest interception return in school history with 98 yarder for a for a touchdown at Nicholls…98 yards in that game was the third most in school history and two returns for 49.0 yard average was the second-best mark…earned Souhthland Defensive Player of the Week after Nicholls game…recorded seven tackles at Stephen F. Austin…had two interceptions for 25 yards and touchdown at Texas State…also had a 43-yard interception against Sam Houston for a total of five picks in a three-game stretch…had six tackles with half a tackle for loss against McNeese State…named Southland Conference Freshman of the Year and All-SLC Second Team

2009: Redshirted.

High School: 2008 All-Arkansas selection for West Memphis High School…two-time All 6A-East selection…2008 Hooten’s Super Sonic All-Arkansas team…two-time Academic All-Conference…two-way starter for 6A semifinalist team as a senior…recorded 10 interceptions and three blocked kicks during career…named to Arkansas 360 Magazine’s Top 50 players list…rated by Scout.com

#89 Chase Dixon

Position: TE
Height: 6-5
Weight: 220
Class: Junior
Hometown: Fort Smith, Ark.

Career: Appeared in 21 games with one start at wide receiver and tight end…has three receptions for 33 yards

2011: Appeared in 12 games as a reserve tight end

2010: Played in seven games with one start at wide receiver…caught three passes for 33 yards…had two catches for 15 yards against Southeastern Louisiana…caught an 18-yard pass against Northwestern State

2009: Redshirted

High School: 7A West All-Conference at wide receiver for Southside High School in Fort Smith, Ark….caught 35 passes for 19.6 yards per catch and seven touchdowns…7A West All-Conference selection in basketball.

#90 Jonathan Woodard

Position: DE
Height: 6-5
Weight: 251
Class: Redshirt Freshman
Hometown: Brentwood, Tenn.

2011: Redshirted

High School: Two-year letterman in track and field (jumps and sprints) for Ravenwood High School in Tennessee…made 73 tackles, 11 sacks, 18 QB hurries, 7 pass breakups during junior and senior seasons

#17 Eddie Camara

Position: PK
Height: 5-9
Weight: 168
Class: Sophomore
Hometown: Cedar Hill, Texas

Honors: 2011 All-Southland Conference Second Team

2011: Played in 13 games… All-Southland Conference Secon Team…converted 49 of 51 extra point attempts… made 14 of 19 field goal attempts, with a long of 42 yards… led team in scoring with 91 points… 7.0 points per game was good enough to tie for second place in the conference in kicking points per game

Previous College: Redshirted at University of Arkansas in Fayetteville

High School: 5-A Texas All-State Honorable Mention for Cedar Hill High School…rated 14th kicker by Rivals and 19th by Scout in 2010…made 50 PATs and 15 FGs as a senior…made 5 FGs of 40 or more yards with a long of 49…averaged 38.8 yards per punt…made 14 FGs and 54 PATs as a junior

Courtesy UCA Department of Athletics

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